Tom Orsborn: Finley bothered by sore back

SALT LAKE CITY – Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is hopeful Michael Finley will return to full strength in time for Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.

Finley revealed Sunday he hurt his back in practice last week. As a result, the veteran guard played only 17 minutes in Game 3, which the Jazz won 109-83 Saturday to trim the Spurs’ lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.

Game 4 is 8 p.m. Monday at EnergySolutions Arena, where the Jazz are 7-0 in the playoffs this postseason and 9-0 in playoff games against the Spurs.

Finley logged 25 and 23 minutes in Games 1 and 2. He scored 14 and 11 points in those contests but was limited to just three points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field in Game 3.

Said Finley: “It was a little bit painful (Saturday), but it was bearable. I was able to go out and give my best. Hopefully, tomorrow I can be even better.

“I should be OK. It’s not that bad.”

In other injury news, X-rays taken of center Fabricio Oberto’s sprained right thumb after Game 3 were negative. Oberto suffered the injury while taking a pass from Tim Duncan early in the third quarter.

The Spurs did not practice Sunday. Popovich also skipped the usual film session, saying,

“It would have been way too painful and cruel and unusual punishment” to make the players re-live their worst loss of the season.

“It’s tough to watch a massacre, especially when you are the one being decapitated,” Finley joked during the team’s NBA-mandated media session.

Said Manu Ginobili: “(Popovich) said it was so bad, he did not want to torture us. Of course, it upsets you. You play that tape in your head a little bit, too. We know we really struggled. We didn’t get anything done. We didn’t set good screens. We didn’t guard screens as well. We didn’t contest shots. We didn’t go to the boards. There are so many things that we didn’t do well.”

A huge contributing factor to the 26-point loss was the poor play of Duncan, who registered only 26 minutes because of foul trouble. Duncan finished with just 16 points and eight rebounds, snapping a streak of 11-straight playoff games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

He also had eight turnovers.

“He was frustrated because of the fouls and he couldn’t perform as well as usual,” Ginobili said. “But we can’t blame it on him. He has given us so much. If he has an off night, we just have to perform better and have everyone try to give a little more. We didn’t do that last night and that’s why they beat us like they did.”

Duncan sported an abrasion under his right eye. The scratch came courtesy of Jazz big man Jarron Collins, who accidentally smacked Duncan while the two wrestled for a rebound.

“Manu had one (earlier in the playoffs) and it looked sexy,” Duncan joked. “I think it’s a sexy looked.”

Duncan conceded that he tried to do too much offensively during the short stints he was on the court in Game 3.

“I might have forced it, trying to make something happen,” he said.

With Duncan shackled by foul trouble, the Jazz outscored the Spurs in the paint, 50-26.